Open  policy  awareness  Project  in  Higher   Education  &  Research     Country  –  Somalia   Background     Since  the  outbreak  of  civil  war  clan-­‐based  conflict  in  1991  and  the  subsequent  downfall  of   the   central   government,   all   public   social   services   were   entirely   destroyed   including   education  system,  health  facilities  and  others.  Continuous  phases  of  instability  and  sporadic   dispute  hindered  the  ability  of  local  and  international  community  to  restore  the  country’s   educational  facilities  and  resources.     However,   during   the   absence   of   the   central   government,   particularly   in   late   1990s   there   was   a   growth   of   private   higher   institutions   founded   by   some   Somali   intellectuals   with   external   aid   support.   There   are   now   almost   50   higher   education   institutions   (HEIs)   of   various  sizes  and  capacities  functioning  in  the  entire  country  with  the  enrolment  of  more   than  60,000  students.     Although  the  expansion  of  the  higher  education  sector  is  evident  throughout  the  country,   there  remains  a  lack  of  access  to  detailed  information  and  data  about  the  Higher  Education   Institutions.  Research  and  the  education  data  became  private  and  undisclosed.     Therefore,   the   Ministry   of   Higher   Education,   Culture   &   Research   of   the   federal   government   of  Somalia  is  going  to  carry  out  open  policy  awareness  in  Higher  Education  and  Research   throughout  the  country.     Project  Impact   The  aim  of  this  awareness  is:   1. To  introduce  Open  policy,  open  access  and  open  education  as  an  open  public  square   for  improving  the  quality  of  Higher  Education  and  gathering  the  useful  scientific   researches.       2. Induct  university  professors  and  students  into  a  culture  of  openness  through   workshops,  media,  and  promotional  material;   3. raise  awareness  of  existing  Open  Educational  Resources  and  create  new  ones  with   an  interest  in  building  content  for  civic  participation  and  human  partnership   tackling  environmental  sustainability  as  a  hands-­‐on  activity   4. Familiarize  participants  with  Creative  Commons  licenses  to  use  and  share  creative   work  and  educational  materials;    

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5. To  prepare  professors  and  students  for  activities  that  fall  under  national  plans  and   educational  development  projects  aiming  at  promoting  civic  participation.     Direct  Beneficiaries:   Professors   from   40   universities   in   Somalia,   members   of   Higher   Education   Commission,   members   from   Higher   Education   Students’   union,   civil   society,   government   officials   and   vocational  qualifications  authorities.       The  selected  members  will  come  together  in  subsequent  sessions  of  workshops,  seminars,   orientations  aimed  at  strengthening  open  policy  and  open  access  in  Higher  Education  and   Research  and  improving  in  the  quality  of  teaching  and  learning  through  open  and  shared   learning  and  scaling  up  best  practices.  This  will  be  a  longer  term  result  of  the  networking   and   sharing   of   best   practice   for   the   Higher   Education   Lecturers   and   for   government   staff   responsible  education  quality  and  good  management.     Project  outcome:   This  project  will  be  the  first  step  by  the  Ministry  of  Higher  Education,  Culture  &  Research   towards   strengthening   the   practices   of   open   policy   and   access   in   Higher   Education   data   and  Research.     One  of  the  concrete  outcomes  of  this  awareness  is  the  establishment  of  taskforce  that  will   put   into   practice   the   theory   of   open   policy   and   access   in   Higher   Education   and   they   will   be   connected  to  a  network  administered  by  the  Ministry.     Induction   workshops   and   seminars   of   Open   policy   awareness   will   be   held   at   each   university  that  will  be  benefited  by  the  lecturers  and  the  students  in  the  various  faculties.     Community  Mobilization  on  the  practice  of  open  policy  in  Education  and  Research,  policy   development   around   open   policy   at   the   institutional   and   national   levels,   development   of   open-­‐access  educational  module  environmental  sustainability     Project  implementation     The   project   will   be   led   by   the   Ministry   of   Higher   Education,   Culture   &   Research   in   collaboration  with  the  existing  higher  education  Institutions.     Areas  of  support  need  from  IOL     1-­‐ To  share  with  the  Ministry  all  available  documents,  slides  and  presentations  relating   to  open  policy.     2-­‐ To  give  online  short  training  courses  to  the  taskforces  established  to  move  forward   and  improve  the  theory  of  open  policy.     2